Crayon print of William Humphrey Hardison (1841-1870), Co. H., 1st Tennessee Infantry CSA. Son of Asa and Mary Ann Hardison. Having survived the war and just before his 30th birthday, Hardison was ambushed and killed by a neighbor over a property...
Muzzle loading, back action percussion lock, .36 caliber rifle. The rifle is approximately 40" long with an octagon barrel, full stock with brass covered joint just behind the lower ramrod pipe. The wood has an unusual finish (probably refinished)....
Letter from 1st Lt. John A. Crutchfield, Co. F, 20th (Russell's) Tenn. Cav. Regt., part of Nathan Bedford Forrest's command in northern Mississippi in "Camp Near Oxford, Miss." Crutchfield states that "the Yanks have all gone back to Memphis" after...
Grainger County 3rd civil district election return signed by Judge W. H. Meek, et. al., for the historic first referendum on secession in Tennessee, just prior to the Civil War. Tally 25 to 1 in favor of the convention.
Cavalry saber and scabbard, manufacturer unknown, likely European. Saber made in a British style just prior to the war (most were manufactured post-war). It could have come through the blockade for use in the Civil War. Possible attribution, 1st...
Letter to his family dated Nov. 26, 1967, begins, "At 9:30 this morning seven of us hopped aboard the truck to take us to the outer edge of the perimeter. We were going for a 3 click (3,000 meters) patrol outside the camp." On his first patrol he...
Strickland's watercolor sketch of the Temple of Jupiter Stator. The sketch includes the ruins of the temple as well as the remains of archaeological excavations. The ruins are surrounded by Medieval buildings. A goat enters the excavation area.
Letter from Arthur H. Harris to his brother George Carroll Harris in Nashville. He writes of the pervading excitement that has surrounded the 1860 presidential election in his area. Though he is glad the contest is over, he acknowledges the death...
This nine-page letter written from Arthur H. Harris in Monroe, Louisiana, to his brother George Carroll Harris in Nashville is a conscious political treatise. The author is advocating and justifiying the secession of Louisiana at the upcoming...
Two-page letter from Elisha W. Harris to his son George Carroll Harris of Nashville. He writes from his plantation Waco Place in Louisiana of the war being upon them with bloody consequence. He has abandoned his efforts to cling to the union and...
Two-page letter from Arthur H. Harris of Monroe, Louisiana, to his brother George Carroll Harris of Nashville. He writes of his recruiting expedition and his rifle company, of recruits hankering for action, of George's desire for a chaplaincy, and...
Five-page letter written from John S. Brien in Nashville, Tennessee, to R. M. C[ornin], Esq. in Cincinnati, Ohio. The author expresses his views on secession, the Union, and Southern Rights as well as his hope for compromise. Says Brien, " I...
Letter from Thomas Crutchfield Jr. to James R. Hood. Crutchfield makes an effort to prove his loyalty to the Union by recounting his opposition to secession, his informing the Federals of troop movements, his supplying of the Union army with...
Letter from Joseph Gerald Branch in Davis Lake Plantation, Arkansas, to his wife Mary in Maury County, Tennessee. He writes that he has not heard from his wife or children since August. He desires to know whether Mary has received the $15,000 in...
Four-page letter from Mary Guthrie Latta to her husband, Samuel, conveys her anxiety at not hearing from him and her disappointment both in his defeat for promotion to Lt. Colonel and in his inability to come home for Christmas. She also relates...
Four-page letter from Beck Wallace to her cousin, Samuel R. Latta, of the 13th Tennessee Infantry, conveys her sorrow at his leaving home to fight for the Confederacy. She is deeply concerned for his wife and children. Beck, a teacher in Fayette...
Excerpts from a diary, 1834-1865, and memoir of early life, written by Jesse Cox (1793-1879), a Primitive Baptist minister and resident of Williamson County, Tennessee. He describes the hardships of life as an itinerant preacher, some religious...
Excerpts from the diary of William Luther Bigelow Lawrence. He details joining the Nashville Guards, the scarcity of provisions, and the surrender of Nashville. He proclaims the trampling of private rights by Federal soldiers, the fleeing of his...
Letter from Jane Smith Washington of Springfield, Tennessee, to her son, William L. Washington in Toronto, Canada, describing a confrontation with Federal troops. Mrs. Washington describes an extremely violent confrontation with Federal troops. In...
